2010 JANUARY - Laserfiche WebLink

481 17.44.070 affordable housing agreement shall stipulate the method for assuring that the units retain their affordability as the hous- ing market changes. The community development director may waive the requirement for an affordable housing agreement for pro- jects approved prior to the effective hereof and /or for projects that have their affordable housing requirements included in a development agreement or other city document. (Ord. 2000 § 1, 2009; Ord. 1818 § 1, 2000) 17.44.079 Incentives to encourage on -site construction of inclusionary units. The city shall consider making available to the applicant incentives to increase the feasibility of residential pro- jects to provide inclusionary units. Incentives or financial assistance will be offered only to the extent resources for this purpose are available and approved for such use by the city council or city manager, as defined below, and to the extent that the project, with the use of incentives or financial assistance, assists in achieving the city's housing goals. How- ever, nothing in this chapter establishes, directly or through implication, a right of an applicant to receive any assistance or incentive from the city. Any incentives provided by the city shall be set out in the affordable housing agreement pursuant to Section 17.44.060 of this chapter. The granting of the additional incentives shall require demonstration of exceptional circum- stances that necessitate assistance from the city, as well as documentation of how such incentives increase the feasibil- ity of providing affordable housing. The following incentives may be approved for applicants who construct inclusionary units on -site: A. Fee Waiver or Deferral. The city council, by resolution, may waive or defer payment of city development impact fees and /or building permit fees applicable to the inclusionary units or the project of which they are a part. Fee waivers shall meet the criteria included in the city's adopted policy for evaluating waivers of city fees for afford- able housing projects. The affordable housing agreement shall include the terms of the fee waiver. B. Design Modifications. The granting of design modifications relative to the inclusionary requirement shall require the approval of the city council and shall meet all applicable zoning requirements of the city of Pleasanton. Modi- fications to typical design standards may include the following: Reduced setbacks; Reduction in infrastructure requirements; Reduced open space requirements; Reduced landscaping requirements; Reduced interior or exterior amenities; Reduction in parking requirements; Height restriction waivers. C. Second Mortgages. The city may utilize available lower income housing funds for the purpose of providing sec- ond mortgages to prospective unit owners or to subsidize the cost of a unit to establish an affordable rent or an af- fordable sales price. Terms of the second mortgage or subsidy shall be stated in the affordable housing agree- ment. The utilization of these incentives shall not be the sole source of providing the inclusionary units and they are intended to augment the developer's proposal. D. Priority Processing. After receiving its discretionary approvals, a project that provides inclusionary units may be entitled to priority processing of building and engineering approvals subject to the approval of the city manager. A project eligible for priority processing shall be assigned to city engineering and /or building staff and processed in advance of all nonpriority items. (Ord. 1818 § 1, 2000) 17.44.080 Alternatives to constructing inclusionary units on -site. The primary emphasis of this inclusionary zoning ordinance is to achieve the inclusion of affordable housing units to be constructed in conjunction with market rate units within the same project in all new residential projects. However, the city acknowledges that it may not always be practical to require that every project satisfy its affordable (Pleasanton Supp. Na 3, I -10)